The Local Food Infrastructure Inventory is a mapped data set of businesses that serve as intermediary steps in local food supply chains. This includes value-added processors (for example, meat and seafood processors, cheese manufacturers, specialty jams and pickling operations), fresh produce wholesaler/distributors, multi-farm CSA’s, food hubs, community kitchens, incubator farms, and cold storage locations. The inventory does not include information on end retailers (e.g., restaurants, grocery stores, and others selling in direct-to-consumer channels).

​Map users can filter by county or district, select from eight different map layers, and sort data by type.

“Creating the infrastructure inventory was a collaborative process, and we couldn’t have done it without the support of Cooperative Extension agents, county and city planners, and regional council of government staff across the state,” said Emily Edmonds, NCGT Extension & Outreach Program Manager. “The inventory is an excellent tool to help regional and local agencies fully understand the opportunities and challenges of strengthening local food supply chains in their own communities.”

“Showing the location of food system infrastructure gives regions a tool to demonstrate the agricultural sectors impact on local and regional economic development. Whether through sustainable value-added food system products, various food processors, markets or hubs, the data from the infrastructure map will be useful in developing strategies to improve transportation and marketing of agricultural and food products, providing critical information for planning and development,” said Matthew Dolge, Executive Director of the Piedmont Triad Regional Council.

The map was designed to support market development for producers and others in the local food supply chain. The inventory supports the work of NCGT’s Local Food Economies initiative, a program that works with local and regional governments and business developers to provide supportive business environments for farms and food businesses. (See www.localfoodeconomies.org for additional information.)

NCGT originally developed the inventory in collaboration with North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Local Foods Flagship Program. The data includes NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) entries, analyzed and edited with assistance from county planners and economic developers, Cooperative Extension county centers, and Council of Government staff.

Citizens and supply chain actors are welcome to submit updates and additions to the map, using the contact email address and forms provided on the information page.

The map was initially created through and has been supported by NC Growing Together, a project of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems. The work was funded by the USDA (National Institute of Food and Agriculture, grant #201368004-20363) and by the BlueCross BlueShield of NC Foundation as part of a statewide food system assessment and action planning process. For more information, contact NCGT Project Director Rebecca Dunning (rebecca_dunning@ncsu.edu) or visit www.cefs.ncsu.edu or www.ncgrowingtogether.org.

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About Extension

NC State Extension is the largest outreach program at NC State University.
Based in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, we reach millions of
North Carolina citizens each year through local centers in the state's 100 counties
and with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
Learn MoreAbout NC State Extension

About Local Food

North Carolina Cooperative Extension and many organizations and stakeholders are working with our communities on development and expansion of local food systems across the state. This Local Food web portal has been developed by North Carolina Cooperative Extension to provide local food systems resources and timely information to all residents and businesses across the state. The goal of the website is to provide information and link to resources from Cooperative Extension as well as from other NC organizations and state partners working on local food programming. It is a dynamic portal and is intended to include new resources as they are developed over time.

To assist you in finding your way around this portal, we have developed a video walk through of the Local Food web portal. The organizational structure for this web portal is available on the ‘Site Map‘ page. If you enter the site through one of the “Your Role in the Food System” links, you will be directed to aspects of the overall site structure relevant to that role. Additionally, you may use the Search tool on each page to search the portal or other N.C. Cooperative Extension portals for the information you are seeking.

If you have questions or comments, or if your organization has research-based North Carolina local food systems resources that you would like us to consider linking to from this portal, please contact Hannah Dankbar at hannah_dankbar@ncsu.edu. Also, please connect if you have potential news items about local foods of interest at a regional or state level.

Support for development and curation of this web portal is provided in part by NC Growing Together, a Center for Environmental Farming Systems-led initiative, funded by the United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, grant #2012-68004-20363.

NC State University and N.C. A&T State University work in tandem, along with federal, state and local governments, to form a strategic partnership called N.C. Cooperative Extension, which staffs local offices in all 100 counties and with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.